#PicksAndPiquesSnippetFilmReviews24thNov2017 #JohnsonThomas
Johnson Thomas
freelance at freelance Journalist Editor Biographer Feature writer,Film critic Book,Theatre,Art,Culture critic
#PicksAndPiques #SpecialMention #JohnsonThomas
#KadviHawa #BitterWind (Hindi) Rating: * * * ½ A stoic deeply affecting tale seguing stories of human endeavour amidst misery and misfortune brought on by the unrelenting abuse of natures’ bountiful resources - from drought prone Bundelkhand region to Chambal region of Dholpur, Rajasthan and the vanishing villages from coastal Odisha, this heart-breaking film leaves you totally breathless and winded. #SanjayMishra #TilottamaShome #RanvirShorey #BhupeshSingh #EktaSawant #BhupeshSingh #ManishMundra #NilaMadhabPanda, #DrishyamFilms #RamaujDutta #NitinDixit #JabeenMerchant #AkshayParija #SpecialMention64thNationalFilmAwards #MauliSinghPR #LoudspeakerMedia #YusufShaikh #SupratikRoy #ClimateChange Runtime: 100 mins
#PicksAndPiquesSnippetFilmReviews24thNov2017 #JohnsonThomas
#KadviHawa #BitterWind (Hindi) Rating: * * * ½ ‘Bitter Harvest’ might have been a more suitable name given the predicament the characters find themselves in, in this redolent tableau about the ill-effects of climate change. The narrative is spare and riveting. This story is but a microcosm of the plight experienced by farmers all across the country and the globe, when climate change puts paid to all their efforts of eking out a subsistence living. Nila Madhab Panda’s treatment of the subject is contextual, using biting irony to highlight the plight of people caught in the trap of climate change. #SanjayMishra #TilottamaShome #RanvirShorey #BhupeshSingh #EktaSawant #BhupeshSingh #ManishMundra #NilaMadhabPanda, #DrishyamFilms #RamaujDutta #NitinDixit #JabeenMerchant #AkshayParija #SpecialMention64thNationalFilmAwards #MauliSinghPR #LoudspeakerMedia #YusufShaikh #SupratikRoy #ClimateChange Runtime: 100 mins
#Ajji(Hindi/Marathi) Rating: * * * MOM becomes Grandmother a.k.a Ajji, and the difference is mainly in the numbers and the conviction. There have been a surfeit of films, in recent times, where the woman takes on her aggressors ensuring vigilante justice- this one is another in the same bracket. It’s grittier and far more detailed than what we’ve seen before but it’s also quite implausible. #SushamaDeshpande’s amazing performance is the highlight though. #SmitaTambe, #SharvaniSuryavanshi, #AbhishekBannerjee, #SadiyaSiddiqui, #SudhirPande, #VikasKumar, #ManujSharma, #TrimalaAdhikari #DevashishMakhija #YoodleeFilms #PrachaarMedia #RukeshKumarHanda Runtime: 109 mins
#Saankal/ #Shackles (Hindi) Rating: * * Railing against ill-devised tradition but ineffectively so. Older women being forced to marry young male children may be confounding tradition but it’s conversion to ill-fated romance and flimsy tragedy make it a difficult one to stomach. #AshwaniShukla #AltairMedia #PisceannFilms #ChetanSharma, #TanimaBhattacharya, #HarishKumaar, #JagatSingh, #SamarthShandilya, #MilindGunaji #DedipyaJoshii Runtime: 99 mins
#Julie2 (Hindi) Rating: * ½ Mixing up nostalgia with sleaze. Don’t know how #PehlajNihalani the #MaryadaPurush (read Censor Board Chief) for the #BJP can hold his head straight while peddling such sleazy drivel after holding other filmmakers to ransom for lesser evils. #DeepakShivdasani #RaaiLaxmi #NishikantKamat, #AdityaShrivastava, #RatiAgnihotri, #PankajTripathi, #RaviKisshen, #VivekVaswani, #ShashiKiran, #AnkitVyas, #AnantJog, #BrijGopal , #RaviGossain, #AshokBanthia, #DollyMattoo, #AtulKale, #AsadKhan #ParagDesaiPR #UniversalCommunications Runtime: 125 mins
#Coco(English/Animation/3D) Rating: * * * Disney’s latest Oscar hopeful, a brilliantly illustrated fantasy that digs deep into Mexican Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) culture - focuses on Miguel’s desire to find his great, great grandfather, Hector. This musical plays around quite smartly with pathos, music and comedy. Not exactly memorable but entertaining for sure. #GaelGarcíaBernal, #ReneeVictor, #BenjaminBratt, #AnthonyGonzales, #AnaOfeliaMurguia, #EdwardJamesOlmos, #SofíaEspinosa, #JaimeCamil, #AlannaUbach, #AlfonsoArau, #LuisValdez, #SeleneLuna, #HerbertSiguenza, #CarlaMedina #LeeUnkrich, #AdrianMolina #Disney #Pixar #ParagDesaiPR #UniversalCommunications Runtime: 76 mins
#ThankYouForYourService(Englsih) Rating: * * * ½ A haunting refrain. Based on David Finker’s book of the same name, this film about the repercussions of war, hits you in the face with the trauma(PTSD) three returning combat veterans( from the minefields of Iraq) have to face while adjusting to living a normal life. A strongly emotive experience. #RelianceEntertainment #ParagDesaiPR #FatemaNagree #UniversalCommunications #MilesTeller, #HaleyBennett, #JoeCole, #AmySchumer, #BeulahKoale, #KeishaCastleHughes, #BradBeyer, #ScottHaze, #OmarJDorsey, #KateLynSheil #JasonHall Runtime: 109 mins
#MurderOnTheOrientExpress(English) Rating: * * * Shakespearean actor/Director Kenneth Branagh, takes a shot at Hercule Poirot in this digitally boosted retake of the 1974 movie adaptation of Agatha Christie’s most widely revered novel. While the movie is lush and has a venerable list of Hollywood icons in it’s fold, there’s not much purchase to be had here other than the visceral.#JohnnyDepp, #DaisyRidley, #KennethBranagh, #JudiDench, #MichellePfeiffer, #PenélopeCruz, #SergeiPolunin, #LeslieOdomJr., #LucyBoynton, #JoshGad, #MichaelPeña, #WillemDafoe, #DerekJacobi, #MarwanKenzari, #OliviaColman, #ManuelGarciaRulfo, #TomBateman Runtime: 114 min.